Skinny Cappuccino - how weird can it get?
Today I went to my local store in search of a not yet tasted Nescafé product for this week's product review. I found not only that. I found a completely new product: Skinny Cappuccino. Or actually "Cappuccino Skinny" to use the exact product name displayed on the package. And according to the writing on the package this one has 75% less fat than the regular Nescafé Cappuccino, and fair enough, this Nescafé Cappuccino only has 0.7 grams fat per serving, "skinny" alright, whereas the regular Nescafé Cappuccino has 3.1 grams, a lot more, that's true. But why call it "Skinny"? That doesn't sound healthy at all...a glitch from the marketing department at Nescafé, or maybe, they're aiming at women and being skinny really is what women want?
On the other hand, this "skinny" version has 7.2 grams carbs (sugar)
whereas the regular version has 5.9 grams. Hmm, not sure what is worse,
carbs or fat? As a low-carb dieter I would prefer the regular "fatty"
version since it has less carbs :-) But why call it "skinny"? Usually, these kinds of products are labeled "diet" or "light", but "skinny"? That brings up some negative connotations in my mind and I'm not sure that is the right marketing strategy, or maybe they're aiming at skinny fashion models as their target group? Oh, and In case you know wonder about what the package says, the Scandinavian
countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland) are seen as one
market by Nestlé, and since Norwegian, Swedish and Danish are very similar
languages you can save on product labeling by only using one of the
languages, plus add Finnish, which is a completely different language,
and in fact very similar to Hungarian.
So, what about the taste? Well, honestly, I've tasted better Cappuccino than this. As much as I appreciate the efforts to bring out a low-fat product, this is not for me. Besides, as I said, I'm a low-carb dieter and and couldn't care less about fat. Maybe there IS a market for a low-fat Nescafé Cappuccino like this, but according to my plate, Nescafé doesn't deliver here. Yes, less fat, but even more less taste. And the foam clots a lot more than with the regular "fatty" cappuccino. I assume the "high"-fat adds some smoothness that this low fat version is definitely lacking. Stay away from this one and go for the regular instead. And for the "spoon-spotters" among you, yes, that teaspoon in the first picture above was nicked from Lufthansa on one of my recent long-haul trips abroad.
Capuccino is supposed to be full flavored, not underflavored. These products just make dieters feel like they're suffering.
Posted by: evilwoobie | 15 January 2008 at 11:37
@Kopi Dunia: What about Tall Skinny Cappuccino? Ain't that weirder? Order that at Starbucks and hear the laughter. LoL!
Skinny cappuccino or Skinny Latte means they use skimmed milk instead of ordinary full-cream milk.
Posted by: james pong | 13 July 2008 at 13:15
Skimmed milk...I see. But why not call it "Skimmed Cappuccino" then. That would make sense, and sound much better, at least in my ears. Anyway, thanks for the info.
Posted by: Kopi Dunia | 13 July 2008 at 13:51
Perhaps they're trying to get a 'buzz word' out in the market.
Nice blog! You really should get Nescafe to endorse it.
Posted by: Marisa | 30 August 2008 at 15:59
I just bought two boxes and totally regret it, the power doesn't dissolve properly so it's full of little lumps of powder. Yuck.
Posted by: Katie | 09 March 2009 at 12:28